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Thursday, December 23, 2010

NOTE from DearMYRTLE: Another note from our busy friends at the National Archives (US). Please address all inquiries to public.program@nara.gov

December 23, 2010

The National Archives Presents Four Noontime Book Talks in January

Washington, DC. . . The National Archives presents four noontime book talks in January. These events are free and open to the public and will be held in the Jefferson Room and Room 105 of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, which is located on the National Mall and is fully accessible. For programs in the Jefferson Room, please use the Special Events entrance on Constitution Avenue at 7th Street, NW.

The 40-year love affair between Rachel and Andrew Jackson parallels a tumultuous period in American history. But like many great love stories, this one ended tragically when Rachel died only weeks after Andrew was elected President. Historian and author Patricia Brady discusses her book A Being So Gentle and the devoted partnership between the Jacksons. A book signing will follow the program; the book is available at a discount from the Archives Shop (202-357-5271) before and during the event.

In The Hellhound of Wall Street: How Ferdinand Pecora’s Investigation of the Great CrashForever Changed American Finance, Michael Perino discusses the 1933 Senate hearings that put Wall Street on trial. This is the story of Ferdinand Pecora, the Senate committee’s chief counsel, who unmasked the financial wrongdoing that preceded the Crash of 1929. A book signing will follow the program; the book is available at a discount from the Archives Shop (202-357-5271) before and during the event.

Jack Hamann will discuss On American Soil: How Justice Became a Casualty of WWII, anaccount of one of the most controversial events in American civil rights and military justice history. In the U.S. Army’s largest and longest court-martial of World War II, 43 African American soldiers were accused of rioting and charged with the murder of an Italian prisoner of war. After dozens of interviews and years of research, Hamann uncovered documents in the National Archives that shed new light on the case and led to justice for the African American soldiers. A book signing will follow the program; the book is available at a discount from the Archives Shop (202-357-5271) before and during the event.

Wednesday, January 26, at noon, Room 105 (Please use the Pennsylvania Ave. entrance)

Joseph Wheelan recounts the largely unknown story of the escape of 109 Union officers from Richmond’s Libby Prison through a 55-foot tunnel and their flight through enemy territory. A book signing will follow the program; the book is available at a discount from the Archives Shop (202-357-5271) before and during the event.

Please note: The National Archives William G. McGowan Theater in Washington, DC, is temporarily closed to the public for needed improvements to the lighting, projection, and recording systems. The Theater will reopen in late February 2011, in time to host the Seventh Annual Showcase of Academy Award®-nominated Documentaries and Short Subjects (Feb. 23 -27), presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in partnership with The Charles Guggenheim Center for the Documentary Film and the Foundation for the National Archives.

To verify dates and times of the programs, call 202-357-5000 or view the Calendar of Events online at: www.archives.gov/calendar. To request an accommodation (e.g., sign language interpreter) for a public program, please e-mail public.program@nara.gov or call (202) 357-5000 at least two weeks prior to the event. To contact the National Archives, please call 1-866-272-6272 or 1-86-NARA-NARA (TDD) 301-837-0482.